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Khutbahs
In Defense of the Quiet Muslim | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman
Not every believer is loud or visible, but many of the most beloved to Allah are the ones you barely notice. The Prophet ﷺ praised the quiet, modest Muslim whose duʿāʾ is accepted, whose service is sincere, and who lives humbly without seeking attention. #BecauseOfMarwan honors a leader who is the heart of the Dallas Muslim community and being unjustly held and persecuted.
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His final messenger.
We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.
Dear brothers and sisters, Abdullah ibn Umar (رضي الله عنهما), he narrates, مَرَّ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ وَهُوَ يُعَاتَبُ فِي الْحَيَاءِ
that the Prophet (ﷺ) once walked by and he saw a man that was being admonished by his brother.
And the way that he was being admonished was he was being told that you have too much haya, you're too shy, you're too modest, you're too quiet.
يَقُولُ إِنَّكَ لَتَسْتَحِي حَتَّىٰ كَأَنَّهُ يَقُولُ قَدْ أَضَرَّ بِكَ His brother is telling him, you're too shy, it's going to cause you to be harmed in life because you're not someone,
I mean the implication as Abdullah ibn Umar (رضي الله عنهما) is narrating is that you're not going to be seen in a light of strength and this could come back to haunt you, you need to put yourself out there.
فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَعْهُ فَإِنَّ الْحَيَاءَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ The Prophet (ﷺ) said leave him alone for shyness is part of iman, shyness is part of faith.
Now there's a prototype that I want you to imagine here, this is a brother talking to a brother, this is a parent talking to a child, this is a friend talking to a friend,
this is a person who in a society that values visibility is being told you don't assert yourself enough, you're too quiet, you're too meager, you're too shy,
you need to do more and there are so many people that fit this profile and this conversation is one of those conversations that's universal and it's across time and culture.
Meaning these conversations happen in every single generation, you have a person who doesn't like to get out of a certain personality type that perhaps Allah created them with
and someone telling them, hey get out there, you're too shy, if you don't speak then this is going to happen, if you don't assert yourself then this is going to happen.
And when the Prophet (ﷺ) says leave him alone for verily haya is from iman, modesty or shyness is from faith, as the ulama mention,
يعني لا تفسد عليه, don't mess up a good quality that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave to him, this is not a bad quality, that's something that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave to him,
don't mess it up for him, لا تفسد عليه هذا الخلق الحسن, don't mess it up for him, Allah 'azza wa jall created him this way and you can't have enough of this.
Now, this is going to be a khutbah that's going to require some unpacking, especially as it relates to the time that we live in today.
We live in an age of personal branding, you have to speak up to get ahead, you're not valuable unless you're visible, you need to make sure that people can see your work, you need to make sure that people can see who you are,
you need to make sure that you put this out and that you put that out. And in that type of messaging you don't realize that some people who hold their tongues don't hold their hearts, their hearts are speaking.
And there are some people that quietly get work done and they are just as valuable to a community and to a society as people that are more out there, people that assert themselves more in the public place.
And in that messaging you start to make mistakes and so prophetic restraint is looked at as cowardice. Because the Prophet (ﷺ) taught us hilm, he taught us restraint and then that starts to be looked at as cowardice.
Someone is made to look timid and weak because they're not ready to get into the arena of people that are, you know, thumping their chests. What does this mean for the time that we are living in right now?
First and foremost recognize that the Qur'anic paradigm is opposite to this paradigm that's put forth in an era of personal branding.
In fact Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when He describes the hypocrites, Allah describes the hypocrites as always trying to make sure that people notice them in the gathering.
Saying things that make no sense whatsoever, just making an excuse to make sure that they weigh in with something, that their voices are heard. So the same people are trying to undermine the Prophet (ﷺ) are trying to inflate their importance by saying what? When the Prophet (ﷺ) walks into the room,
أَنصِتُوا لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ Everyone be quiet, the Messenger of Allah just came in as if I gave you permission. Ya Rasulullah, I quieted them down for you, like I'm your guide. They try to make their presence known all the time.
Or as Al-Fudayl (رحمه الله) says, this comes off as remember when I did this and remember when I did that, which is al-mann. لا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ
Don't ruin your charity بالمن والأذى, boasting or hurting the person you're giving charity to. Mann is broader.
Al-mann here is remember when I did this and I remember when the people were sitting and I said this and I remember 20 years ago I said this and I remember two months ago. If they would have listened to me, then we wouldn't have found ourselves in this predicament.
Inflation of self-importance. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ
The opposite is in the Qur'anic paradigm, don't self-promote because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows who's actually pious. So don't be someone that puts yourself out there so much because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows who's actually a pious person.
So the name of this khutbah is in defense of the quiet Muslim. But I want to be very specific here. Not any quiet Muslim. Because just like some speech is praiseworthy and some speech is not,
some silence is praiseworthy and some silence is not praiseworthy. So من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده You see evil, you should change it with your hand. فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه
If you can't do it with your hand, then change it with your tongue. It's not praiseworthy. When evil happens in front of you and you don't say anything, that's not a praiseworthy silence. It's not a praiseworthy quietness. So this is not about tone.
This is not about speech versus silence. This is about intentional speech versus intentional silence. And you need both types of personalities in the community.
So this is not in defense of quietness as a whole. This is in defense of the quiet hard-working Muslim.
That quiet hard-working person who gets things done in a community but easily falls under the radar. And how praiseworthy this personality actually is in society.
The Prophet (ﷺ) himself, as he perfects the different forms of akhlaq, the forms of character, who was given the guidance to speak.
Al-balagh His guidance (ﷺ) was to speak and then to model what he speaks. As guidance back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And even he (ﷺ), what's he distinguished by?
His speech is intentional. His silence is intentional. Jabir ibn Samurah (رضي الله عنه) says in a narration in Sharh al-Sunnah قال كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم طويل الصمت
The Prophet (ﷺ) would go long periods without saying something. He was actually someone that would sit in a gathering. Like who knows more than him (ﷺ)? Who weighs in more than him (ﷺ) with something that is meaningful?
The Prophet (ﷺ) was طويل الصمت He could sit in a gathering (ﷺ) and maintain his silence. He spoke when he needed to speak (ﷺ). But he mastered thoughtful silence.
Sufyan al-Thawri (رحمه الله), he comments on this and he says, يقال طول الصمت مفتاح العبادة It is said that long periods of silence is the key to deep worship.
Like you can't achieve deep worship, deep 'ibadah unless you actually know how to be quiet for a long time. To hold your tongue for a long time.
So one element of this is that it opens up certain dimensions of thoughts when you're not running your tongue all the time, running your mouth. When your brain is doing more work and you're not speaking
and you have a chance to turn this on and turn this on and let the radars and the inputs work properly. So that's one element of this. And Mu'adh ibn Jabal (رضي الله عنه), he says,
كلم الناس قليلا وكلم ربك تعالى كثيرا It's beautiful. Speak to people little, speak to your Lord often. لعل قلبك يرى الله تعالى
It might be that your heart will perceive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as a result of it. Your heart will see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, meaning it perceives Allah deeply when you speak less to people and you speak more to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So this is one element of this.
But beyond just observing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's also saving yourself from sins. Rasulullah (ﷺ) is described by Khalid ibn Abi Imran.
قال أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أمسك لسانه طويلا And the Prophet (ﷺ) held his tongue for a long time. And then he said, أتخوف عليكم هذا
رحم الله عبدا قال خيرا فغنم أو سكت عن سوء فسلم The Prophet (ﷺ) would hold his tongue for a long time and he would say, I fear for you because of this.
May Allah have mercy on a servant who speaks good and gets rewarded as a result or refrains from speaking evil and is safe as a result. Profound. Again, intentional speech, intentional silence.
The problem is, by the way, is that when someone talks a lot, they don't know when to turn it off. And when someone is silent too much, sometimes they don't know when to turn it on. So the Prophet (ﷺ) is saying,
May Allah have mercy on a person, speaks good, gets the reward, refrains from speaking evil, and is safe from the punishment. So one element of being a quiet, the quiet Muslim,
this prototype in society, in a community, is actually being careful with your speech. But then there's this element, but if you don't speak, if you're quiet, you're not going to get noticed.
People aren't going to notice you. And subhanAllah, we find that in our deen, being unnoticed is actually a virtue. Being unnoticed is a virtue. And there's a whole story behind this that I'll paraphrase
because I've told it in greater depth in other places. It's the story of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (رضي الله عنه), one of the ten Mubashshireen bil-Jannah, the ten promised Paradise. And when Uthman (رضي الله عنه) was killed,
Sa'd (رضي الله عنه) retreated to the mountains, herd his sheep, take care of his business, do good, he avoided fitnah. His son came up to him.
His son's name was Umar, Umar ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (رضي الله عنه). And as Sa'd (رضي الله عنه) saw him coming, he said, أعوذ بالله من شر هذا الآتي. I seek refuge in Allah from the evil of this person coming to me.
And the ulama say about Sa'd (رضي الله عنه), موفق في الدعاء, he's مستجاب الدعوة, his du'a is answered. It's one of the descriptions of Sa'd (رضي الله عنه), and people feared his du'a. And he has tawfiq, he has success in the precision of his du'a.
He didn't call his son evil. He said, I seek refuge in You, O Allah, from the evil that he's carrying right now. Because he has something with him that he's about to say that's not good. And I can tell by looking at him and the face that he's coming with.
And Umar came up to him, Umar ibn Sa'd (رضي الله عنه), and he said, you know, people in Medina are now basically drawing lots, and their positions of leadership being assigned in the wake of Uthman (رضي الله عنه) being killed, aren't you gonna get in there?
Like you're Sa'd (رضي الله عنه) ibn Abi Waqqas (رضي الله عنه), you're one of the six, the shura of Umar (رضي الله عنه), right? You're eligible for any position in society. There's no ceiling for Sa'd (رضي الله عنه) ibn Abi Waqqas (رضي الله عنه). And Sa'd put his hand on his chest and said,
اسكت, he said, be quiet. قال, he said, سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول, I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say, إن الله يحب العبد التقي الغني الخفي. I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say,
Allah loves the servant who is taqiyy, which is pious, ghaniyy, self-sufficient, khafiyy, which is hidden. Three descriptions the Prophet (ﷺ) said.
All three of these descriptions have their own chapter of virtue. What it means to be taqiyy. Fearful of committing sin, mindful of Allah, watching yourself, you know, with great accountability. What it means to be ghaniyy.
What it means to be self-sufficient. You try not to ask people for anything. You try not to depend on people for anything. Because one of the characteristics of a believer is independence. A believer should try to be independent from the creation as much as possible.
Try not to ask, try not to depend on people. Khafiyy, hide your good deeds. That in and of itself is a trait in Islam. But subhanAllah, there is a way that they all connect together as well.
Taqiyy is someone who would fear sin. So why risk speaking in a way that might be sinful, and might ruin everything good that I've done. Ghaniyy, I don't need praise from people.
So I'm okay, I don't need to impose myself on a gathering. I'm okay with going unnoticed in this effort or in this work or whatever it may be, because I don't depend on people's praise.
It's okay, I can be in the shadows and I'm actually happier there and more comfortable there. Right? I don't have to be out front.
And khafiyy, as a result of that, is I don't need to be visible as long as I'm visible to Allah. Right? So the idea here is that this quiet Muslim is still productive,
but they're just uninterested in praise. They're still achieving results, they're just not looking for recognition. They're still working, but they're working in the shadows. And the light is actually because of them,
but they're okay with being in the shadows and doing what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given to them. So they're not chasing the credit, but they're always there doing what needs to actually get done.
And my favorite hadith in this regard is a hadith from Abu Umamah. The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
طُوبَىٰ لِعَبْدٍ نَقِيِّ الْقَلْبِ حَسَنِ الْخُلُقِ He said (ﷺ),
طُوبَىٰ لِعَبْدٍ نَقِيِّ الْقَلْبِ حَسَنِ الْخُلُقِ They're excellent in the worship of their Lord.
They obey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in secret. And they are obscure amongst people. And he says (ﷺ), وَكَانَ غَامِضًا فِي النَّاسِ This person is kind of hidden amongst the people.
People don't point to that person. لَا يُشَارُ إِلَيْهِ بِالْأَصَابِعِ Means when he walks into a gathering and leaves, he's actually unrecognized. That's that person that can pray at a masjid for many years.
And get stuff done, but people don't actually know their name and people don't point to them as a result. وَكَانَ رِزْقُهُ كَفَافًا فَصَبَرَ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ And their sustenance is little and they're patient with their sustenance being little.
And then he goes on (ﷺ) to say something powerful. Someone might say, but then people aren't going to know you and they're not going to make du'a for you. And you're going to go unnoticed. Some people have different pathways to Jannah.
He said (ﷺ), ثُمَّ نَقَرَ بِيَدِهِ Like he grabbed his hand (ﷺ). And he said that this person عُجِّلَتْ مَنِيَّتُهُ
قَلَّتْ بَوَاكِيهِ وَقَلَّ تُرَاثُهُ So this person, death comes to them, very few people cry over them, and they have very few people to inherit from them.
But wait a minute. What about the big janazahs? And what about the people that do so much and everyone says, مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ This person, this person is that.
If they were sincere in that, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala writes all that down for them as sincere shahadah. But just because someone did not have human shuhada, human witnesses,
doesn't mean they weren't being witnessed by the mala'ikah, by the angels and by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So just because ... There are very few people that would cry over this person or attend this person's janazah or know who this person is,
doesn't mean that they're not of the same status or sometimes even greater. So the idea here is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala already knows them. Now here's what I want to come to in conclusion of this.
SubhanAllah, the press release is often at death. The work speaks for itself at death.
And the press release, what I mean by that in the sense of how people come to know of that person when they pass away, it often comes at death. And it comes through two ways.
Either you have people that come out and they bear witness to that person's good, right? And they say that this person used to do this for me and this person did this for me and this person did that for me.
And that person that was doing that for people was doing it with individuals. And then those testimonies sort of became murakkab, as the scholars say, they build on one another. And then there's a personality that's built out of that.
So like he was visiting this sick person, but he was also visiting this sick person. He was secretly giving to this person and helping that person. And so when that person dies, then 30, 40, 50 people come out with the same story. So that's one way.
Or the void is now felt. The void is now felt. And then once someone is gone, you go, oh, wow. Now we see what's missing.
This is what's described about the great Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin, the great grandson of the Prophet (ﷺ),
and the son of al-Husayn, as that he used to secretly go out at night and give sadaqah. Muhammad ibn Ishaq says, كَانَ نَاسٌ بِالْمَدِينَةِ يَعِيشُونَ لَا يَدْرُونَ مِنْ أَيْنَ يَعِيشُونَ وَمَنْ يُعْطِيهِمْ
فَلَمَّا مَاتَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ حُسَيْنٍ فَقَدُوا ذَٰلِكَ فَعَرَفُوا أَنَّهُ هُوَ الَّذِي كَانَ يَأْتِيهِمْ فِي اللَّيْلِ بِمَا يَأْتِيهِمْ بِهِ That people in Medina were living off of somebody and they didn't know who they were living off of until he died.
Then they realized that they were living off of Ali ibn Husayn. He was the one that used to come and drop stuff off at night. He was the one that was taking care of them and they made du'a for him at night. And the marks of the bread that he used to carry showed on his body (رضي الله عنه) at night.
So either it's the piling up of testimony or the clear absence that's felt as a result. The point is, some people are going to be this and some people are going to be that.
But sometimes that person is still alive. And one of those people is Marwan Maruf, our brother Marwan Maruf, who is not quiet in the ultimate sense. By all means, he's a community leader, mashallah.
He goes out front when he needs to be out front and he's done so many great things. So many great things that we know him for. But what you're noticing as he's been unjustly detained and pulled away from this community
and we cannot allow for our people to be stolen away from us, just like we can't allow our people in Gaza to be killed in silence. People are coming with the stories.
I remember when he drove to me and did this. I remember when he did this for me. I remember when he did that for me. And you have the kathrah. You have the piling up of stories and stories and stories and stories of a person.
I mentioned this to say that you honor a person like that by fighting for that person. And you honor a person like that by being like that person. We need more of those people and we need to fight for those people.
And so dear brothers and sisters, please follow the case of our brother Marwan because of Marwan and the fight for him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala free him soon. Follow it and be a part of it because even if you didn't know it,
you will know about him through what other people are saying about him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala free him. May Allah 'azza wa jall be with our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Sudan and all over. And may Allah free our sister Liqa Qurbiyah and all of those that are unjustly imprisoned.
اللهم آمين أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم
الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه ومن والاه ربنا لا تؤاخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأنا ربنا ولا تحمل علينا إصرا كما حملته على الذين من قبلنا ربنا ولا تحملنا ما لا طاقة لنا به
واعف عنا واغفر لنا وارحمنا أنت مولانا فانصرنا على القوم الكافرين عباد الله إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون فاذكروا الله يذكركم واشكروه على النعم يزدكم
ولذكر الله أكبر والله يعلم ما تصنعون وأقم الصلاة
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